Chase by Viola Grace

him to wake. The instant he stirred, she went to Hexar's side and did the same. The moment that Hexar opened his golden eyes, she burst into tears.
    Drioth came and sat behind her, wrapping her in his arms as she sobbed. Hexar cuddled her from the front and when she calmed, they put her to bed and summoned the watch.
    The body would be removed and the Alliance notified.
    Tomorrow, Nene and her mates would start all over again.

    Chapter Ten
    Hide and seek after age twenty-five would normally be considered silly, but on Mkara, it was foreplay.
    Nene couldn't help but feel a shiver of arousal as she sprinted through the woods behind her house. She had been given a fifteen-minute head start and she was making the most of it.
    It was bizarre how much running through the woods and hiding played on long-dormant instincts. Her heart pounded in her chest while she looked for a hiding place.
    She had waded through water, jumped over rocks and was debating climbing a tree when she heard her first stalker.
    The long skirts that the Oefric favoured were too easy to tangle on a climb. She had to burrow.
    A small crevice in the side of a hill invited her to hide, so she took it up on the offer. She pressed back against the side of the incline and crouched. As she heard footfalls closer to her, she covered her face. If she couldn't see them, they couldn't see her.
    She screamed when arms gripped her and tumbled her into the clearing. Drioth's blue-green eyes were looking at her out of a distinctly feline face. "Cheater!" she punched him in the shoulder and shrieked when he lapped at her neck with a tongue close to sandpaper.
    Hexar bounded into the clearing an instant later and howled in disappointment.
    Drioth made a purring chuff in his throat and Hexar stalked off. He had lost the day and consigned to do dishes for the week.
    Drioth busied himself with her shirt and the ties of her skirt. She was allowed to keep her boots on when she saw the flare of lust in his mind at the contrast of bare skin against the leather.
    He was naked and he had the sense of consideration to retract the fur into his skin in the groin area. When he prodded at her with the blunt head of his cock, she blushed to find that the heat in her body was translated to an easy entrance for him at his standard width.
    His first stroke took him into her halfway and the second pushed him into her completely. His snarl rang through the forest and he withdrew, flipping her over.
    She caught the image in his thoughts and drew up on her hands and knees while he stroked the curve of her waist with devoted attention. He slid back into her and widened slightly before working her hips back against his with a heavy pulse of steady thrusts.
    Nenita balanced on one hand and reached between her thighs to stroke her clit, squealing in release as the short touch started an echoing wave of pleasure that struck her hard and fast.
    His howl of triumph was unmistakable, as was the clench of his clawed hands on her waist. She slumped to the ground in a heap and the moment he withdrew, she rolled to the side. "I can see why your people enjoy playing that."
    "It is a fun pastime." He lay next to her and trailed his fingers over her hip. "Have you decided?"
    "Well, the council has asked me to go on retainer for any jobs that need tweaking, as well as all new builds, but the blacksmiths and engineers have made a good case, too. I don't want to turn one down and make an enemy."
    "Nene, the only way you could make an enemy here is to go after one of the mated males and if that were the case, you would have to get through Hexar and myself first."
    She laughed. "Which would you recommend?"
    "Both. Go on retainer with both. Create a schedule for building and work with the engineers to spot flaws in their designs." He kept up the peculiar stroking that was warming her blood again.
    She tumbled him to his back and straddled him. "Caught yah."
    "And you didn't even have to chase me. Excellent conservation